Posted: 4/24/2011 8:40:38 AM EDT
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I go wheeling quite a bit up in the mountains and out in the desert. There are times where there will be a few groups of people I wheel with that want to link up but we can be upwards of 75 miles (max) away from each other.... usually its under 50 miles (of roads not a straight shot). We've all got CB's installed in our rigs already. What I am wondering, is there a way to use our existing CB's and expand our effective communication range? Or do we all need to get licensed and purchase HAMs? It isn't very often that we need to communicate these distances, but we want the capability to do so. Usually our average distance is 15-30 miles, but it can extend out further.
Sorry for the ignorant question.... I know nothing about Comms. Thanks ahead of time. |
| Great worded question, I haven't played with simplex operation too much on my HAM radio I usually use repeaters. Hopefully once a friend of mine passes his exam, we can use simplex. I would talk to all of the people you wheel with, and get HAM. Keep the CBs as well for shorter distance and other wheelers. You can also look up and see if any repeaters are in the area that you wheel and can hit off. If it is a good network of repeaters you can possibly talk those distances you are looking at. I have heard the guys on here talking about in Virgina or somewhere on the east coast a repeater system that covers 100 or more miles if I remember correctly...... Someone more knoweldgeable than I will probably be along with better answers. |
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75 is a pretty healthy spread for mobile simplex comms of any sort. It's definitely worth the time, effort and money to go the ham route in that attempt versus trying to illegally juice your CB's and hope it works (which I kinda doubt it would).
Several 4WD groups out there use CB's or FRS for close-in stuff (truck to truck on the same trail) and then put guys with ham rigs (and licenses) in the front and rear for the ability to reach out to further points. That eliminates having to convince everyone in the group from having to rig up and get licensed. It's also a little easier to chatter on license-free channels (CB / FRS / MURS) since there's no requirement to ID (such as the ham requirement of stating your callsign every 10 minutes or at the end of a series of transmissions). Makes "tactical" chatter easier. Do some searches to see if you have ham repeaters around your wheeling areas –– that would make your proposed 75-mile hop MUCH more feasible. If you PM me the general locale, I'll be happy to search for you. The first step might be just setting the example and grabbing your technicians (base level) license, a 2-meter (or 2m / 440) mobile radio and antenna. You could accomplish this for as little as $150 brand new. |
| Thanks everyone for the input. Since it looks like we're gonna have to go the HAM route, I guess I'll have to pony up and get into the HAM game. Since we are going to be mobile when using them, could you all recommend good (relatively inexpensive (I have no idea how much HAM radios cost)) radio set ups that will work mounted in a vehicle as well as some hand held units (I heavily believe in redundancy so back ups are always a good idea :) ) |
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I know nothing about Comms. read the following, http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=22&t=604477 especially the section entitled "an introduction to VHF/UHF repeaters". then, you need to figure out if there is a conveniently located VHF/UHF repeater to your wheeling adventures; if so, the repeater combined with VHF/UHF radios in your vehicles may be a good solution. if there is not a suitably located repeater, you are going to have to go with HF –– and 75 miles can be a bit "complicated" with HF. read up regarding NVIS, on page 2 of the above linked thread, it's the second post on page 2. ar-jedi |
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Quoted:
Thanks everyone for the input. Since it looks like we're gonna have to go the HAM route, I guess I'll have to pony up and get into the HAM game. Since we are going to be mobile when using them, could you all recommend good (relatively inexpensive (I have no idea how much HAM radios cost)) radio set ups that will work mounted in a vehicle as well as some hand held units (I heavily believe in redundancy so back ups are always a good idea :) ) don't jump to selecting a radio until you understand whether or not there are VHF/UHF repeaters in your AO. otherwise, you are going to end up spending money on VHF/UHF hardware which will not solve your communications problem. ar-jedi |
| If any of you have open vehicles, the Yaesu FTM-10R is an all weather 2m/70cm device that can handle being in the elements. Its not exactly cheap, but it can handle being underwater while you do a stream crossing or use a light rain to wash the dirt out as you drive. |
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I know nothing about Comms. read the following, http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=22&t=604477 especially the section entitled "an introduction to VHF/UHF repeaters". then, you need to figure out if there is a conveniently located VHF/UHF repeater to your wheeling adventures; if so, the repeater combined with VHF/UHF radios in your vehicles may be a good solution. if there is not a suitably located repeater, you are going to have to go with HF –– and 75 miles can be a bit "complicated" with HF. read up regarding NVIS, on page 2 of the above linked thread, it's the second post on page 2. ar-jedi Thanks ar-jedi, I read through your Ham 101 and I was completely overwhelmed :) That is a ton of information to digest expecially when none of it makes sense to me. Its probably going to take me reading through it a few more times and learing some more of the lingo before I comprehend the Ham world. The information you provided in your thread is very informative... just a lot to take in. Thank you by the way for taking the time to put that information out there for other people to read. I forwarded the link to a couple buddies to look at as well. |
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Brun PM me the area you're looking to be in, I'll see what's around there I'd say for 75 miles, without repeaters, you're gonna be hard pressed to find a reliable communications means without laying out some cash.... I'd also wager that there is repeater coverage in the area though.... (edit) just looked at western WA...... yea, shoot me where you're looking to operate.... there's some pretty large tracts of nothing out there |
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One advantage of getting your ham license is the availability of NEAR VERTICAL INCIDENCE SKYWAVE.
NVIS means that with a horizontal antenna, close to the ground, at around 7 MHz (way below the CB band), you can usually communicate reliably out to 30 to 400 miles, or 50 to 650 km. |
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The only catch I see with NVIS in this context, is that the antennas are not really mobile friendly. Unless you rig something special with a hamstick, handling the 10 or 20 yard long wire antenna seems a bit... challenging. Actually an NVIS mobile antenna can be easier to manage and homebrew than a vertical whip. http://www.signal.army.mil/ocos/ac/articles/fiedler/dfnjarng.pdf |
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Quoted:
Thanks everyone for the input. Since it looks like we're gonna have to go the HAM route, I guess I'll have to pony up and get into the HAM game. Since we are going to be mobile when using them, could you all recommend good (relatively inexpensive (I have no idea how much HAM radios cost)) radio set ups that will work mounted in a vehicle as well as some hand held units (I heavily believe in redundancy so back ups are always a good idea :) ) Out of curiosity, what part of the state are you riding in? I just left WA for VA, and got licensed as a ham out there. I may be able to help you answer the repeater question. IM me if you want with where you operate and where you live, and I can probably point you in the right direction. Also, there are a LOT of folks (or at least, there used to be) who are hams in the WAHTF. |